


Then They Do

by kaceywithak



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Bitty is a great husband, Kids growing up, M/M, Nostalgia, Stay At Home Dad!Jack, Zimbits family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-02
Updated: 2016-06-02
Packaged: 2018-07-11 17:16:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7062106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaceywithak/pseuds/kaceywithak
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>inspired by the sappy country song "Then They Do by Trace Atkins, my love for Stay At Home Dad!Jack and nostalgia</p>
<p>Jack thinks it's too quiet in the mornings. He remembers when it was quite the opposite.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Then They Do

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Check Please or the rights to Jack Zimmermann's booty. Sadly.
> 
> Come play on tumblr and go wild over these hockey boys: starks-and-mellarks

Jack Bittle waves to his neighbor as he jogs past. Though he still likes to start his day with a morning run, he enjoys the luxury of sleeping in. The later start means he usually gets to see his suburban neighborhood start the day. He smiles, realizing Providence has been his home for over half of his life.

He turns onto a long driveway that leads towards home. They bought the large white colonial right before Darren came along and Bitty insisted on painting the weathered shutters bright blue (“ _because it’ll be just like The Notebook and Holster will_ die”). Five bedrooms, four bathrooms, a great kitchen and a yard big enough to invite all of their friends over to barbeque and play in the pool: it was perfect. 

The hiss of the coffee maker is the only sound as he leans against the old farmhouse table, but it wasn’t long ago the room was filled with noise.

_“Don’t forget to brush your teeth!” Jack calls after his ten-year-old son. Darren Bittle darts up the stairs the minute he finishes his cereal._

_“Papa,” his youngest, Sophie tugs on his pant leg. “I can’t find Mr. Bear.” Jack crouches down so he is eye level with her._

_“Honey, you know you can’t bring Mr. Bear to preschool. He stays and watches over your room while you’re gone, remember?”_

_“But I can’t_ find _him!” Her blue eyes well up in tears and Jack stands and picks her up._

_“I promise I’ll find him today and he’ll be ready with your snack when you get home, okay?”_

_“Merci.” She gives him a wet kiss on the cheek but his grin drops the minute he glances at the clock._

_“Darren, come back down and get your backpack! Ava, quit worrying about your hair, it looks fine!”_

_“I need five minutes!” No one ever told Jack that having a twelve year old meant having daily battles about the most insignificant things._

_“You have two minutes!” He hears her groan and turns back to his other daughter. “Okay Sophie, time to get in the car. Darren!”_

_“I’m here, I’m here!” He thunders down the stairs with his Boston Red Sox backpack. The kid loves baseball more than anything else--including paying attention in Math, which Ms. Reily wanted to have a conference about but he has to reschedule because Ava’s dentist appointment is this week and they’ve already moved it twice because of her hockey practice—“No hats at school.” Jack snatches the baseball cap from his son’s head._

_“Aw, come on Papa-“_

_“Let’s go.”_

_Darren climbs in the back of the SUV while Jack buckles Sophie in to her carseat. He hears the front door slam. Ava walks down their front stairs and Jack notices her hair looks different._

_He’s smart enough not to comment. His son is not._

_“Your hair looks weird.” Darren announces when Ava gets into the car and takes the seat in front of him._

_“It’s straightened.” She says, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. Jack starts the car and glances at the clock on the dashboard._

_They are late. Again._

_“Darren!” Ava screeches. “Get off! Papa, he’s pulling on my hair!”_

_“I didn’t even touch her!” For effect, he throws up both hands in surrender._

_“Darren, quit messing with your sister. Ava, calm down.” He backs out of the driveway and on to the road. They are barely at the top of the street when:_

_“Papa, I have to potty!” Jack sighs._

_“Honey, you’re going to have to hold it until we get you to pre-school okay?”_

_“Okayyyy…” Sophie sings and Jack mentally counts how many of her spare outfits he has in the trunk._

_“Melanie invited me to the movies tomorrow night. Her mom can drive us.”_

_“Is her mom staying at the theater complex?” Ava dramatically sighs._

_“You’re the_ only _parent who doesn’t let me get dropped off! I can see a movie with my friends without my dad creeping in the back row.”_

_“I am not the only parent and I am not budging on this one.” They are at a stoplight and Jack turns so he can look at Ava. “I care about your safety. I’ll drive you girls tomorrow.” She huffs but doesn’t argue more so he lets the ‘creeping’ comment slide._

_“Look at that dog! What a beaut!” Darren’s face presses against the window. Jack smiles knowing exactly where his son picked up that phrase._

_His happiness is short lived as he pulls up to the middle school and realizes arrived after the bell, which means Jack has to unload them all so he can sign Ava in. This makes him even later to drop Darren off at the elementary school and by the time he gets Sophie to preschool it’s nearly 45 minutes late. She kisses his nose and reminds him he needs to find Mr. Bear as soon as possible._

_When he gets back in the car, he puts his head on the steering wheel for a moment and exhales. It’s only 9:00 in the morning and yet he feels like he could crawl right back into bed._

_He looks forward to the day without a hectic morning._

He finishes his coffee and stares out the back window. Sophie’s high school graduation party was in a week.

When Bitty graduated college and moved to Providence, he worked at a bakery to learn the business side of things while still vlogging and contributing to other websites. He took time off when they adopted Ava and Darren came along two years later. When Jack signed a seven-year, no trades contract with the Falconers they decided to open _Bitty’s_ , a cute bakery serving the best pies on the east coast right in the historic section of Providence.

They balanced their demanding careers with as much teamwork and help as they could, but when Jack retired at 43 and announced he was taking time off to be a full-time father, Bitty was relieved.

Jack still swears professional hockey is easier than getting his kids out the door on time.

He decides to take a drive and when he arrives at the bakery he lets himself in though the back. Pop music greets his ears and the some of the tension in his shoulders eases at the familiar sight. Jack is 57 years old, he has known Eric Bittle for almost 35 years, but every time he sees his husband he falls a little more in love. Maybe it has something to do with the blinding smile Bitty gives him when he sees him. 

“Hi sweetheart!” Jack walks over and gives him a soft kiss. “I’m so glad you’re here, I could barely keep it to myself any longer. Guess who called this morning?”

“Who?” Jack leans against the table and brushes some flour off of Bitty’s ear.

“Luke. He wants to know if he can drive down this weekend and take you and I out to lunch.” Bitty raises his eyebrows and Jack grins.

“Great, I haven’t seen Ava in weeks-“

“No, sweetie, just Luke _alone_. Ava doesn’t know he’s coming. I think he’s got a _question_ to ask us.” Bitty bobs his head excitedly and the implication hits Jack like a check to the glass. 

“Oh.” He tries not to look to upset. He likes Luke and he and Ava have been dating for three years so he shouldn’t be surprised and it’s nice of him to get their blessing but… 

“Darling, what’s wrong?” Bitty stops working with the crust and turns to him.

“Aren’t they a little young?” It’s the best Jack can come up with. Bitty chuckles.

“She’s twenty six, honey. That’s two whole years older than I was when you asked me. 

“Well we were…different.” Bitty gives him a soft kiss and bumps their noses together.

“No we weren’t. But I think Luke was terrified to talk to you and that’s why I got the call.” That makes Jack feel slightly better and he hangs around the bakery for another hour, sampling pie and tickling Bitty every so often.

But the sinking feeling comes back when he opens the door and steps into the sient house. It’s strange not to be tripping over a pair of Darren’s baseball cleats or hear the clacking of Sophie’s tap dancing shoes from the kitchen.

He stops and stares at the different pictures hung up in the hallway. A young Ava and Darren dressed in Falconers uniforms and on the shoulders of Ransom and Holster. Bitty and Darren: covered in chocolate frosting and laughing at the camera. Lardo holding an infant Sophie in her arms on the deck of the Cape Cod house. 

His parents and Bitty’s parents all together at their wedding. His heart sinks a little more. 

Two hours later Bitty comes home to find Jack surrounded by old photo albums _(“I don’t care if everything is digital nowadays, there ain’t nothing wrong with good old fashioned albums, Mr. Zimmermann.”)_

“Oh sweetheart,” Bitty sits next to him on the couch and cuddles up to his side. Jack shows him the photo he’s been staring at, a Christmas from over a decade ago where Sophie got a dollhouse so big that she could fit inside the first floor.

“Where did all of this time go?” He’s come close to tears all afternoon but now that Bitty is tucked into his side they threaten to spill over. “I swear Bits, they were babies yesterday and now…it’s like I’m done.”

“Darling, you are not done. We are still their parents. You know I had a three am text from Darren this morning because he lost his wallet _again_? And I heard you last week talking to Ava because she was convinced she has bronchitis just because she sneezed twice in a row.” They share a smile: Ava is their drama queen. “And Sophie is _just_ starting college. I hate to break it to you, Mr. Bittle, but we are _far from done_ with this parenting thing.” Jack turns to him and cups Bitty’s face with his hands.

“I love you. I love you and I love the life we built. Thank you.” 

“My pleasure.” There’s a faint blush across Bitty’s cheeks and Jack kisses the top of his forehead. He pulls Bitty onto his lap to face him and though it’s slightly less comfortable than it was when they were younger, it’s comforting. Bitty runs a hand through Jack’s salt and pepper hair and Jack closes his eyes at the touch.

“It’s too quiet in the mornings though.”

“Would you like a job at the bakery?” There’s a tilt to his voice and Jack opens his eyes and raises an eyebrow.

“Is that a chirp or an offer?” 

“Hm, well what are your qualifications?”

“I’m a pretty good hockey player. And I was once Vice President of the PTA after one of the younger moms went out on maternity leave. And I’ve never committed murder during a dance carpool.”

“JACK!” Bitty’s mouth drops in horror and Jack throws his head back in laughter. “It was not funny! You _know_ Sophie made me pull over so she could try to nurse the squirrel back to life and I was terrified of her getting rabies to I made her and her friends stay in the car and they _sobbed_ the whole drive home, it was traumatic!”

“I remember.” Jack rubs Bitty’s back. “I don’t know Bits, I haven’t had a job in fifteen years. But I was thinking maybe I could go back to coaching for a youth team? Like I did before Samwell.” Bitty’s smile stretches wide and he leans down to give him another kiss.

“I think that’s a fantastic idea.”

\--

“ _Sophie, where did you put my hairspray?”_

“ _I didn’t borrow it!”_

“ _Yes you did, I can smell it from the hall!_ ”

Jack picks the empty plates from the table and grins. It’s the day before Sophie’s party and the older two got in last night to help set up. They were supposed to meet Bitty at the bakery ten minutes ago.

“ _Papa, Darren is still asleep_!”

“Wake him up, he knew we had an early start!” His son was out late the night before catching up with friends and didn’t get dropped home until close to three am. 

“ _JESUS AVA, WARN A GUY_!”

“ _Like I wanted to start my day looking at your bare ass! Gross, put pants on, we’re leaving_!”

They thunder down the stairs and Jack hands Darren two pieces of peanut butter toast for the drive.

“Thank Papa, you’re an actual lifesaver. Shotgun!” And he races his sisters to the car. They squabble over who gets the front seat (Darren wins), beg to change the radio station (Sophie wins) and bicker over who gets the first piece of pie (they all dig in at once.)

Bitty tucks himself into Jack’s side, wrapping an arm around his waist and giving him a squeeze. Jack glances down. Bitty is laughing at the scene in front of him and he tilts his head.

“You’re sure you want your crazy mornings back? Game days with the youth team this fall are going to be a little hectic. And there’s a lot more of them.” Jack looks at the kids who are practically using their forks as weapons as they fight for the last slice.

“I think I can handle it.”


End file.
